Fairy Tail's Strongest
by InLoveWithFairyTail
Summary: It was one of those rare occasions where Lucy had rejected Natsu's offer to go on a job. It was never meant to turn out to be a tragedy that involved 19 of their best members. So, after attempting to climb out of a pit of despair, Lucy's decided to be Fair Tail's Strongest! *not a death fanfiction* (on hiatus)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Tragedy **

Lucy could hear it. She could hear her voice saying, "No." And as much as she wanted to erase that fact, to go back in time and change it to yes, it wouldn't and couldn't happen. The voices echoed inside her head relentlessly, a haunting memory of what used to be.

She could hear Erza and Gray agreeing to go with him. Then, even Gildarts, Cana, and Romeo said they would travel with them. The Strauss siblings also volunteered, and there was no way Juvia was missing a chance to go with her soul mate. So then, Gajeel and Laxus and the Raijinshuu said they wouldn't lose, they'd go as well, and shove Natsu's wise-cracking jokes up his butt. The Exceeds wouldn't hang back, especially Carla, since Wendy was going as well. So a good nineteen people were deciding to go (if you counted the Exceeds which Happy insisted they did).

"I have to stay to read these runes," Lucy heard herself say. No, you don't. You can go, just go!

Lucy heard it all. She didn't need to be Cobra and have super special hearing to hear The Words. When Levy came home from her job with the rest of Shadowgear, they had broken out the bad news. Several mountains had collapsed in and….unfortunately, the team of nineteen Fairy Tail Wizards had not managed to escape. Perhaps Macao had suffered worst of all, hearing that his own son had died in the tragic event, and he had lain down on the wooden table for days, unable to eat or drink. Lucy, on the other hand, had withdrawn to her room to cry her heart out for days, weeks, months. Kinana had come on several occasions to try to pry her out, but the blonde kept it locked, not answering when the bartender knocked and called her name. Torn between despair and rage, Lucy had come so close to losing it.

They had survived Phantom Lord, the Tower of Heaven, the Raijinshuu incident, Oracion Seis, Edolas, Tenroujima, and Key of the Starry Skies together, and now, they were gone. No matter how hard she tried, Lucy had not been able to believe it for months, or bring herself to believe it anyways. And Natsu, oh goodness, what about Natsu? What about her feelings that she had suppressed for so long? What about those smiles?

"What am I supposed to do!?" she had screamed, throwing a pillow to the ground, "What am I supposed to do? Don't leave me you guys! Don't leave!"

She then collapsed in a sobbing heap and had picked up a picture of all of them together, "Who is supposed to be Fairy Tail's Strongest now?"

Finally, she'd turned and looked in a mirror. Her hair had been disheveled, her face tearstained, and her nose had been runny.

"You look pretty messed up."

Natsu's voice seemed to echo in her apartment, and Lucy almost smiled, until she remembered some more phrases.

"See ya, Lucy! Have fun with those runes of yours!"

"Fish money, here I come!"

Happy. It was hard to believe she would never see that blue cat again, or hear him roll his tongue to say, "He llllikes you!" …or see Carla totally reject him even though her feelings towards him were obvious. Lily's face swam out from the darkness, and Lucy cried in despair when she remembered his unexpected fear of thunder.

"…dearly beloved friends of Fairy Tail."

Lucy, suddenly snapped back into reality, realized it was raining, that she was dressed in black, and many tombstones were laid out right in front of her very eyes. That rush of memories – all painful – had completely zoned her out. The idea of being distracted at her friends' funeral sickened her. After all, even all their past enemies (including Oracion Seis who were on close surveillance) had been paying close attention. Legion had made it, and so had Crime Sociere (hiding stealthily). The Zentopia clergy and Archbishop had even come, and Lucy watched as everyone mourned for her beloved comrades.

"Anyone who has anything to say, now would be the time."

Every member of Fairy Tail came up, and even some ex-rivals. Master went first, Macao second, Wakaba third…

She went last, her eyes cast downward, a tremor in her voice.

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and in honor of these members – my friends – I have decided that _I _will become Fairy Tail's Strongest!"


	2. Chapter 2: The Celestial Fairy

_Thanks for choosing to continue to read Fairy Tail's Strongest!_

_Thanks GoldenRoseTanya for your review! What would Fairy Tail be without 19 members!? :D_

_Thanks Lunagorn! This is my first story so thank you for your support! ._

_Oh, and Please Review! I'd appreciate it!_

**3 years later….**

**Chapter 2: The Celestial Fairy**

"_People call her…the Celestial Fairy."_

Sure, everybody LOVED Edolas. You know, Hughes (the man), Byro, and Crybaby Himself after all, were pretty interesting. But in Natsu's opinion, this Fairy Tail was no substitution for HIS Fairy Tail. It didn't have Lucy (the non-scary one), and the Nab who actually worked here? He kind of freaked Natsu out. The Royal Army, along with Edo-Erza (twice the fun!), occasionally visited to have a good time and party with the members. For three years, this fire mage had been grumbling about returning to Earthland, but so far, Mystogan could not find a way to send them back. Even though he had somehow found a way to bring them HERE.

In addition, almost every day, Natsu somehow managed to make Edo-Natsu cry (to which he got paid back for, ten-fold, by Erza ). It was no fun not having Lucy to play pranks on, or to sneak into her house to have a quick nap. At least, a Lucy that didn't use Technique 35, the Bitch Drop. And yes, she had used it on Natsu, and yes, it wasn't fun. (Natsu suspected she liked picking on him because he didn't cry so easily.) Now, a sniveling Natsu Dragion was seated next to him, trying to wipe his tears away.

"Sniffle this, sniffle that, can't you have a decent conversation with me once in a while?" he asked his Edo-Self.

"Natsu, you're scaring him," Lisanna scolded, crossing her arms.

"Well, he shouldn't be scared! We've been like…" he glanced at Dragion for a minute and looked back to his childhood friend, "TWINS, for three years now!"

"Natsu!" Erza snapped, and he let his argument die down. Instead, he pounced on another subject.

"I miss Lucy," Natsu whined, "I don't even have her apartment to raid for snacks!"

"We all miss her," Gray said from his corner, stripped free of clothes (except for his boxers of course; Erza INSISTED that he kept them on for their stay in Edolas), "and the others as well."

Natsu just glared at the stripping freak. Did he mention that it was really tempting to fight with Gray every minute now that there were two of them?

"I bet I miss her more," he muttered and Gray stood up punching the air.

"You want a contest or something, you slanty-eyed freak!?"

"I wish, but nothing interesting goes on here in Edolas."

"Well, I'm sorry that we're so boring," Edo-Mira sniffed, polishing a cup until it shone blindingly. Her counterpart was busy getting drinks for Edo-Macao and Edo-Wakaba. The fire mage set his head on the table, and was reminded of Lucy's habit of doing that whenever she was bored. Now that he thought about it, her eyebrows were like this, and her mouth was like this, and she said it like this, "I'm booored."

"That's not it, Mira!" Wendy assured the white-haired beauty, then the blue-haired Dragon Slayer turned to Natsu, "Don't be rude, Natsu-san!"

But the fire mage had already gone back to poking his counterpart, which didn't help the situation. Erza sighed, sure that her friend was a lost cause, and Gray was busy dealing with a swooning Juvia (for some reason, Edo-Juvia thought Earthland Gray was a freak). Edo-Gray was at the request board, trying to ask for Edo-Juvia's hand in marriage (a sight which Earthland Juvia almost crushed a wooden pole at). It was a normal day for the people of Fairy Tail, as normal as it could get without magic anyway, so no one expected for it to become a exciting, out-of-the-ordinary day. Until Mystogan crashed through the guild doors.

"Big news everyone!" he cried, and Natsu nearly fell out of his chair. He was already feeling cranky that morning and Edo-Jellal's sudden entrance didn't improve his mood.

"I suppose it isn't the fact that you found a way to let us back into Earthland is it?" the fire mage asked sarcastically. So far, whenever Mystogan came to the guild saying there were "good news", it turned out to be a discovery of fish, or rich soil along the river or something. Natsu didn't care about those things, except the fish, those specimen were particularly delicious. But now, confronted with the king of Edolas, he did not seriously expect any "wonderful news" to come spewing out of his mouth like…like…rainbows.

"Actually," Edo-Jellal Fernandez said with a smirk, "I _have _found a way."

Immediately, every conversation in the room died out as each person looked at him, uncertain that they had heard right. Found a way back to Earthland? People scratched their heads, picked at their ears, or continued to stare at the King, until…Natsu broke the silence.

"Are you _serious?" _he asked the former Earthland inhabitant. In turn, he got a nod.

"YES!" Happy was the first to shout in celebration, flying and circling the air. "The first place I'm going to stop by is Lucy's house! You know, for some food!"

It was as if he had broken a dam. Floods of conversations broke out between the Earthland Fairy Tail members. Mirajane started to cry right along with her little brother, Elfman ("Crying is not a Man! But I can't help it!"). Lisanna started to dance around with Wendy as Carla gave Happy a huge hug (which he bragged about to Lily – who didn't know what the big deal about a hug was). Natsu and Gray actually fist bumped each other and afterwards, shot insults at each other just for the heck of it. Erza insisted that she get a piece of strawberry cake for the occasion, and even Gajeel couldn't resist letting a smile creep up his face. In fact, the only emotionless ones (or tried to remain that way anyways) were Laxus and the Raijinshuu (the only exception was Freed who started to cry rivers).

"Wait!"

Everybody stopped to find out who had ruined the mood. It was Gray, stripped again as usual.

"What 'way' did you even find out about?"

The question was directed at Mystogan who gave a mischievous little smile. The King stroked his hand through his hair and looked at each of the misfits – the ones who did not belong in this non-magical world.

"Well, it'll hurt, a little, alright?"

"Not as much as this!" Lucy screamed and pounced on Natsu Dragneel. "Technique 35! The Bitch Drop!"

The fire wizard let out a tiny squeal of pain and asked from his position on the ground, "Can we leave NOW please?"

**Meanwhile back on Earthland**

Kinana looked at the miserable bunch of members from her place behind the counter. She had just been polishing a wine glass and was busy putting it back where it belonged. Over the last three years, her purple hair had grown to her shoulders (not much of a change, but it was still a change), and her light green dress had been changed to a lavender one. Resting her head on her right hand, she glanced at each present member.

Macao, who had aged even further in the past three years, had never even smiled at anyone. All he ate was plain rice and he didn't even drink anymore; he said it wasn't worth it without Romeo there to cheer him on, or Cana to compete with him. On the other hand, Wakaba had been reduced to a drunk. This second occurring tragedy had really struck him hard; so hard that he had not been able to recover like he did with the Tenroujima incident. Over the years, their guild had gotten even weaker than it had been before. The only reason it was still standing and had not been overrun by Twilight Ogre again was probably because of Lucy. That girl had probably changed the most in three years – in the area of magical power, that is. Overall, her personality and cheery attitude had not changed.

"Wakaba, please bring those glasses to me if you're done with them," she ordered of the man. He slowly got up from his position, towing along the three mugs that were next to him as if he did not have any more energy to use.

"Here," he muttered exhaustedly, and crept back to his worn out spot to sleep. Again, the bartender looked around at the sad state of their guild.

"I wish," Kinana whispered, "they were all alive."

As if on cue, thunder erupted in the sky, a deafening boom that actually shook all the tables of the guild. Kinana screamed as glass cups shattered on the ground, and Asuka began to cry. Shards flew everywhere, even managing to throw Wakaba off his bench, who cursed loudly. Macao, who had been eating peanuts from a dish on his table, yelled loudly as the plate flew by his face. The Master, completely thrown off guard by the sudden boom, shouted in fear as something crashed through their ceiling ("My guild!").

Finally, the shaking stopped, and Kinana felt herself freeze in shock at what had landed on the floor.

"N-Natsu!?" she gasped. Sure enough, the salmon-haired boy sat up, rubbing his head, and muttering something about, "Darn Mystogan!"

"No way! Romeo!?" Macao yelled, as if he was gasping for air. Tears were already streaming down the old man's face as his son ran up to greet him.

"Hi dad!"

"Everybody!" Kinana laughed, wiping away her tears, "I can't believe it! I can't! I can't!"

"Well, you better believe it!" Elfman roared, "Because believing is…"

"A MAN!" finished everybody in the guild. Everybody's tears stained each other's faces as everyone leaned in to hug each other. Bisca and Alzack, who had clearly missed their third partner, squeezed Romeo until he ran out of breath, and Erza, trying to suppress tears, was giving everyone a possible concussion by banging their heads on her armor. Eventually, Natsu retreated from the hugging mass and looked around. He wasn't feeling right…of course, SHE wasn't there.

"Where's Lucy?" he asked. Kinana looked at him, smiling at his question.

"Lucy?" she repeated, and he nodded, "Oh, well, she's on a job."

All celebratory cheers immediately stopped. Erza and Gray looked at her with disbelief and Natsu let his mouth hang wide open.

"By HERSELF!?" he asked.

"That's the idea," Kinana replied, nodding and smiling.

"But…but…WHAT!?"

"You may not be aware of this," Makarov said suddenly.

"We're not," Gray muttered and received a punch from Erza.

"But Lucy, left alone for three years, has become the most powerful wizard in Fairy Tail," the Master continued, bringing out several gasps from the homecoming bunch, "People call her…the Celestial Fairy."


	3. Chapter 3:In Action

_Thanks for reviewing! They always encourage me!_

_Always Loving and Appreciating your support everybody!_

_I know I've updated a LOT today but I have nothing to do…-_-_

**Chapter 3: In Action**

"_She was tired. She SHOULD be tired. She had just battled a mob of bloodthirsty monsters. But okay, every job was like that. So why should she be exhausted?"_

"The Celestial Fairy?" Natsu asked incredulously, "What's up with that name?"

"Oh!" Evergreen wailed, "And I tried so hard in gaining the name of Fairy Tail's Fairy!"

"Nobody even called you that," Elfman muttered under his breath, and then he raised his fist to his chest, "Let me see this MAN!"

"Like I said," Kinana laughed nervously, "She's on a job. Oh, and she's not a man."

"What kind of job?" Gray inquired, clearly upset that his teammate had just done a surprise sneak attack on him. He had wanted that title (not Celestial Fairy, but Fairy Tail's Strongest Member) for a long time now.

"Slaying some monsters, no big deal," Wakaba answered, "She usually brings back a whole lot of money. Although we feel bad about it, she gives us a big portion of her earnings so that we can repair this place bit by bit."

"The strongest huh?" Natsu grinned, "So if I beat Lucy, that mean's I'll be the strongest, right?"

"It'll be short-lived because then I'll beat YOU, Natsu," Gildarts said smugly.

"Well, yes, technically, but," Macao paused for a moment, "Lucy's real scary when she comes home from a job. All that walking home makes her crabby."

"I still say she's not old enough to drive," Makarov said from his seat on the bar counter, drinking a glass of beer.

"She's twenty," Alzack pointed out, to which Makarov said, "I really don't care."

"Now," Bisca interjected before her husband got involved in the quarrel he had brought up for a million times already, "how about you explain how you got back from wherever you came from?"

"Well," Natsu started off, but Erza covered his mouth.

"You'll just make them even more confused," she stated, and turned to her beloved guild, "When we were in those mountains, we felt this strange magical power, so we tried to check it out. But something – or someone – set off a chain of explosions infused with that mysterious power we felt. We would have been dead if not for the sudden transportation to Edolas. There, Mystogan explained to us that he had felt something wrong as well, and so he used several contraptions to get us out of there. Of course, when he did that, the machines all broke. Over the course of three years, he was researching on how to get us back here, to home. He finally discovered that if we gathered up all of our magical energy into a tight ball and sent it into the sky, we would be able to create some sort of mini-Anima. It worked, but we also used up all of our magic, and had no choice but to crash land somewhere, and that was here, right in our very own home!"

"It was disappointing that our ticket to home was so simple, but we had to wait for three years just to figure it out," Romeo piped up. The Three Years' Tragedy group nodded in unison. Everyone stood in silence, acknowledging this fact when a civilian from Magnolia came bursting in.

"…back!" he gasped, breathless, "She's back! Lucy Heartfilia's back!"

Reacting immediately, Makarov Dreyar grabbed a huge microphone and yelled into it, "RAISE THE FLAGS! LUCY HEARTFILIA IS BACK! NOW LET'S PARTY!"

"What are you doing?" Natsu exclaimed.

"You don't understand," Kinana replied, "Lucy's been gone for three months. She's never taken that long to finish a monster job before! Now, everyone in Magnolia's celebrating her return!"

**Lucy**

As if she couldn't hear that Master's voice. It was loud and deafening even if she was barely just on the boundaries of the city itself. She could already see people putting up flags of welcome and tying balloons to door knobs.

"Oh, Magnolia," she whispered, as she set foot on city ground.

"Hi Lucy!"

She waved at everyone who greeted her, never failing to smile at them. Lucy's demeanor hadn't changed, just her powers, and just a little change of her clothing. She now wore a cloak (sort of like Gildart's, but the ends were not frayed) that was the same color as her Key of the Starry Skies outfit. The collar of it was high so that it shielded part of her face, but it was roomy as well. It was pinned just above her chest with a golden Fairy Tail Mark brooch. Under the cloak, she adorned her Key of the Starry Skies clothing set. She wore brown boots, and her hair was back to that one-little-ponytail-to–the-right-side thing. A wicked looking katana (samurai sword) was strapped to her back, making her appear intimidating. But truthfully, Lucy's personality differed to her appearance a LOT.

"Hi," she nodded at the local fisherman who waved vigorously in return.

Everyone could tell how the Celestial mage was feeling. Lucy was _way_ too sure about how she was feeling. She was tired. She SHOULD be tired. She had just battled a mob of bloodthirsty monsters. But okay, every job was like that. So why should she be exhausted? It was because the journey back home had been energy-draining. Her job had taken place far away, and she felt cranky that she had had to walk all the way there, and all the way back. Several times, the blonde had tried to argue with the Master to let her drive, but he wouldn't hear of it.

"If Edo-Natsu can drive," Lucy had said stubbornly, "and Erza can drive, why can't I?"

"One," Makarov Dreyar had replied, "is in another world, and the other is super scary."

Lucy knew it had been a mistake to even MENTION Erza, but she couldn't help it. Every time she came home, her mood would be super bad because her feet ached and her legs burned.

"At least you'll get some muscular legs," Alzack had said, but that did not improve her mood. Why would she want her arms to be tiny but her legs to bulge with muscles? She had kicked the man right through the roof and afterwards, he had quarreled with Master to let her drive too.

To top it all off, the last few steps to Fairy Tail had to involve, yes, stairs! By the time, Lucy had climbed them, feeling worn down, she was sure nothing could improve her mood. But she was wrong. Because right then and there, a little blue puffball sped towards her at lightning speed.

"LUCY!" Happy screamed, tears streaming down his face and crashed right into her. The blonde stumbled back on the impact, and would have fallen right down the stairs if Erza hadn't grabbed her wrist. Wait a minute…ERZA!? And there was Gray, and Romeo, and Wendy, Carla, Lily, Gildarts, Cana, Laxus, Lisanna, Mira…..

"I'm dreaming," Lucy murmured, "I'm dreaming and I still have like, one thousand miles left to travel to get home."

"Lucy!"

Oh my goodness, if this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up. Because there was Natsu, dressed in that one-sleeved outfit, running towards her like there was no tomorrow.

"You're Natsu," Lucy said dazedly as he engulfed her in a hug, "I'm not…dreaming, am I?"

"No, Lucy, you're not, you're not dreaming!" Natsu said, his voice muffled against her shoulder. Was he crying? Well, that was okay, because the blonde herself was sobbing her heart out.

"I thought you were dead!" she screamed, "I thought everyone was dead!"

"Yeesh, still noisy as always huh, Lucy?" Natsu said, smiling as he pulled away from her.

"You jerk!" she cried, trying to kick him, "I thought you were…were…"

"Dead?" Gray called, "Yeah, we got you the last time. You were screaming it."

Lucy, still shocked, wiped her tears away, trying to manage a smile, "Shut up Stripper."

Suddenly, Makarov's voice boomed, "SO, WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR!? LET'S PARTY!"

"Not if we can help it!" a gruff voice said. It was a bald guy, all sharp facial angles and broad chins; with him were four other tinier people with delinquent-looking faces. It was none other than the infamous Twilight Ogre, yet again trying to overrun the Fairy Tail guild.

"We'll destroy your puny guild!"

Lucy, still facing Natsu, began to emit a dark and dangerous aura. In one swift movement, she drew her sword and charged the measly group.

"So, this is how you welcome me home!? Don't ruin my reunion you JERKS!"

And with one slash, the five thugs went crashing down the hill, probably resolving to never enter Fairy Tail again. Sighing with satisfaction, the Celestial wizard sheathed her sword.

"Man am I tired, right guys?" Lucy said, turning around.

"Y-yeah," Gray and Natsu said, trembling as Erza nodded, saying, "Impressive."


	4. Chapter 4:Clueless

_Thanks for everyone's reviews! Always keeping me encouraged! :D_

**Chapter 4: Clueless**

"_He really didn't have a romantic cell or bone in his body, did he!?"_

Because it was Fairy Tail, the party couldn't be small. Because it was Fairy Tail, the Master would never forgive his children if the party was small. So, the celebration extended in a festival for Magnolia. Max even set up his little market again just to sell Natsu and the ever popular Lucy doll. Of course, the fire wizard insisted that Lucy come with him into town, even though she assured him that she wanted to stay at the guild. Seeing his boldness in asking a girl to go with him, Juvia waited intently for Gray to ask her to go with him. But, as usual, she had to take her own actions.

"Gray-sama," the light blue-haired mage said shyly, "Will you come with me?"

"Sure," the Ice wizard replied, and just as Juvia was about to shout in victory, he towed over Erza saying, "and Erza will come with us as well, right?"

(Poor Juvia.)

Natsu dragged Lucy all over the city, eating as much as he could, even snuffing out a few flames because he was so hungry. As for the Celestial mage, she didn't hold back; by the time they returned to the guild, she had already eaten several drumsticks and loaves of bread. Happy floated in behind them, saying, "Those fish were so delicious; I would have liked to go with Carla, but…"

Even though it was already late at night when they arrived back at Fairy Tail, Cana insisted that all of them play a good old board game. A good old "board game" turned out to be a noisy competition between the members, punishment for losers included (Natsu was sure he would never heal from all those bruises Erza's punches gave him). Lucy watched from the bar counter, listening to Mira hum pleasantly, and slowly became tired. The white-haired Take Over mage suddenly whipped around to stare at the blonde, who then glanced at her uncomfortably.

"What is it, Mira?" Lucy asked as Gray shot an ice cannon at William.

"Hmm, nothing," the beauty answered, chuckling to herself, her long eyelashes sweeping over her blue eyes.

"No, really," the blonde persisted, "What IS it?"

"I bet you're really happy."

"Well, considering nineteen people who I presumed dead are back, yeah, I'm actually pretty happy."

"That and your secret love is back!"

Lucy almost fell off of her seat out of shock. She knew that Mirajane was pretty knowledgeable when it came to relationships in the guild, but she had thought that she would never mention it again after THAT one time. _That one time_ was when Lucy had been caught up in Mira's delusions and had actually thought Natsu was going to confess to her. Which he didn't. He had only wanted to see Virgo to dig out some guild secrets or whatever.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hmm, that's funny, because last time I checked, the one you secretly liked was Natsu."

"Well, you checked WRONG."

"Sure, whatever you say Lucy, but," Mira leaned in closely to the Celestial wizard's face, "you can't fool Mirajane Strauss when it pertains to these kinds of things."

Laughing nervously, Lucy stood up from her seat, waving off the whole conversation as a blush ascended up her face. Her golden hair fell around her face so that it made her appear even more embarrassed, which annoyed her to no end. Of course, she LIKED him, but that idiot had no clue whatsoever, so she had done a fair job of ignoring her feelings so far. But now that Mira had actually brought it up, Lucy could feel her emotions boiling out of control.

"You know what? I think I need to go home. My landlady gets worried if I take too long to return."

Unfortunately, from his corner of the room, Natsu heard her and perked up, smiling his reckless smile, "I'll escort you home, Lucy!"

"No, no, really, that's okay," the blonde argued, but he was already up, dusting off his pants like he actually cared about the state of his clothes. He ran up to her and pulled at her wrist.

"Well, let's go then!"

"Wait, Natsu-!"

Happy, who had been busy chatting with Carla and Lily, suddenly began to say, "I'll go with-"

The fire mage looked back, searching for his partner, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Wasn't that Happy?"

From behind the bar, Mira shook her head, smiling sweetly, "No, Natsu. You must be hearing things, huh?"

Natsu, confused, shrugged his shoulders, "I guess."

As if walking home with him alone wasn't enough, he actually wanted to stop and talk for a while! He directed her towards the riverside, where he sat down, and swung his legs over the side. He gestured for her to do the same and she came over hesitantly, wishing that she was at home. When Natsu was sure that she was seated properly, he started to talk right away.

"Well, how has it been the last three years?"

"Tiring, the guild's gotten weaker."

"Edolas Fairy Tail is still strong, but I think Edo-Me cries too much."

Lucy cocked her head to the side, giving a crooked smile, "Are you sure you didn't provoke him?"

He gave her one of his wide smiles right back, laughing, "Now, why would I do that?" Then his face became serious.

"I tried to look for Edo-Igneel there."

"Not much success?"

"Nope."

An awkward silence draped itself over them, and Lucy almost wished Happy was here, even if all he would say was, "He lllllikes you."

"I swear I'll find him Lucy. I swear I'll find Igneel."

The blonde permitted herself to study her best friend once she heard that deadly serious tone. His face was set into one of determination, with his eyebrows scrunched together, his mouth scowling, and his eyes looking upward at the sky. His biceps twitched slightly as he gripped his fists together, and his knuckles turned white under the force. Suddenly, he looked down at her, and she quickly looked away, her face heating up noticeably.

"I missed you Lucy."

"Huh?" she replied, surprised by the sudden comment, and scrambled to recover, "Uh, yeah, I missed you too Natsu."

"Yeah well," the salmon-topped boy chuckled as he leaned in his forehead to touch hers, "I missed you a LOT."

He was grinning right into her face and his hand was patting her head. The expression on his face showed no discomfort at all, but Lucy couldn't help but try to suppress a panicking squeal.

"What are you doing?" she managed to whisper.

"Huh? What do you mean what am I doing? I'm patting your head."

"Yeah, but-"

"Well, I better get going," he said simply, jumping up. He turned around to walk away, but suddenly turned his head around with his face brightly lit, "unless you've got some snacks for me?"

Lucy couldn't take it anymore; just when she thought she was finally making progress with this…this…HOTHEAD, he just HAD to ruin it. He really didn't have a romantic cell or bone in his body, did he!? The blonde was beyond the point of losing it, and to prove she really was, she sent him flying off with a single kick. She didn't flinch even once as his screams got farther away into the sky.

"He is SUCH an idiot."

Meanwhile, from behind a trash can, Mira, holding a struggling Happy in her arms tightly, gave a short "tut tut" sound.

"Really," she sighed exasperatedly, "not ONE NaLu moment can happen without THAT happening, can it?"


	5. Chapter 5: On a Job With Lucy

_Thank you everyone for your comments._

_Thanks Cat Goliath for your advice! In this story, I decided to not change Lucy's personality because I wanted to see what it would be like for a stronger Lucy to remain cheerful and sweet. _

**Chapter 5: On a Job With Lucy**

As Natsu stared at the request board, he felt a feeling of warmth overtake him. It had felt like forever since he had taken on a job and knew that he could actually use magic. In Edolas, Edo-Lucy had made it clear to him that if he burned so much as one blade of grass, he was going to pay for it dearly. In addition, if the people of Edolas knew that the supposed "bad guy" from last time had returned, they would try to overthrow Mystogan, certain that their ruler was a fraud.

Right now, any job would do, as long as it involved knocking someone senseless, and a little bit of "Roar of the Fire Dragon". The fire mage was seriously beginning to worry that maybe his fighting tactics had gotten rusty over the last three years (if he had had any in the first place).

"Eighty thousand jewels for taking out a band of robbers?" he said in disbelief, "Didn't these kinds of things used to cost less?"

"Yeah," Macao said, eating a large bowl of noodles, "but over the years, no guild wants to take on that kind of job anymore, except for Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus. Even then, though, the members of those guilds are too busy to pay attention to something as trivial as that."

"So," Wakaba continued, drinking some water distastefully, "the leftover jobs like those get handed down to us, Fairy Tail. The only reason the price rose for those is because the only member here that takes jobs the most often is Lucy… and she's busy taking care of other monster-related jobs most of the time. The plumaged clients got desperate, and started to offer more Jewels."

"Hey, isn't this enough to pay for your rent, Lucy?" Natsu called over to his best friend, who was sitting at the bar counter. She turned around, adorning a crooked smile. A stray piece of hair hung just in front of her eyes.

"I don't have trouble paying my rent anymore, Natsu," the blonde replied, brushing her hair away from her face. The fire wizard frowned, "You don't? Was it because we weren't there to destroy the town?"

"No, it's because I took up a lot of jobs. I didn't have a lot of free time, believe or not."

"You didn't?"

"No, I didn't."

Natsu turned around, trying to suppress a laugh. Quietly, he whispered to Happy, "Lucy without free time is as hard as to imagine as you without your Aera magic."

"Tell me about it," the Exceed whispered back, giggling. Suddenly, a boot struck Natsu on the back of the head, and he fell forward, crying.

"I can hear you two!" Lucy growled, missing a shoe, "Darn cat!"

The whole guild burst into laughter (especially Gray who couldn't get enough of looking at Natsu sprawled on the ground like a weakling). Annoyed, the Dragon Slayer sat up, rubbing the back of his head (which was covered mostly by a large shoeprint), and whined, "C'mon, Lucy! It'll be fun to go on a job! It'll just be me, you, and Happy! Like the old times!"

"Like the old times? I doubt it. The last time I was forced by Levy to go on a job with Lucy…" Jet started to mutter.

"Shut it, Speedy," Lucy said aggressively and turned to Natsu, "Okay, fine, let's go Natsu."

The spiky-haired mage looked up at the Blondie, and gulped at her irritated expression.

"Alright," he said meekly, trailing after her.

Lucy was in an extremely bad mood. All night, she had brooded over Natsu's dense personality towards romance. She had even lost sleep over such a stupid thing, and no matter how many times she had repeated to herself that he couldn't get a complicated topic like love because he was SUCH an IDIOT, it had not made her feel better. Going on a job with him without Gray or Erza would have been nice, if she wasn't so scared that he would barf all over her clothes on the train ride to Hargeon. She doubted if he even remembered that that was the place where they had first met each other. Oh, and plus, if Happy was there, there was no room for romantic fantasies to come into play.

As the sea raced into view outside the train's window, Lucy could feel a flood of memories washing over her. Bora, the fraud who had attempted to act out as Fairy Tail's Salamander, Lucy's close capture, and Natsu coming to rescue her from the ship, and of course, Happy dropping her into the sea…

"Ugh," he moaned as his cheeks puffed up. Disgustedly, Lucy pushed him away from her with her foot, determined to keep her outfit clean. The train finally came to a stop, and the blonde made sure to pull him out so he wouldn't get caught up in another ride.

"You," Lucy sighed, "are SO lame."

Once Natsu had fully recovered (and had even remembered this was their meeting place, what a SHOCKER!), Lucy wasted no time in asking him where their client lived.

"On a street," he answered, sniffing around like a dog.

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Yeah, Natsu, I figured that. On WHICH street, though?"

"Oh, something about Sea Breeze Avenue?"

"Great," the Celestial mage managed a smile, "So…let's go then, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah, okay."

It wasn't easy walking with Natsu through a town where lots of food stands were situated right on the sides of the cobbled streets. He kept on drifting off somewhere, and if Lucy didn't keep an eye on him, he managed to get lost somehow. The fire mage insisted that he could sniff her out if she got far away from him, but the blonde was NOT taking any chances.

"You're coming with me and that's final, Natsu," Lucy hissed, tugging at his sleeve. He turned around reluctantly, and trudged beside her. "Geez, even Happy is more obedient than you are."

Happy, floating by her head diligently, nodded, saying, "That's because three-years-later-Lucy can throw a boot way farther and more accurately than three-years-before-Lucy could."

The blonde decided to take that as a compliment; she wanted to be as optimistic as much as possible after the horrible train ride. It was hard to look on the bright side with someone like (unromantic, knows-nothing-about-love) Natsu traveling with her.

"Is this the house?" Lucy asked him when they reached a two story building. It wasn't mansion status, but it was pleasant looking. Outside, an assortment of apple, orange, and plum trees grew in abundance, flowers of all colors and sizes bloomed, and there was even a marble fountain sitting off to one side. The doors of the house, made of mahogany, were etched with ornate designs, depicting Lamia Scale insignias. Now that she looked closely, Lucy could see the distinct mermaid symbol almost everywhere she looked in the garden. The sculpture from which the water spouted from in the fountain was a mermaid itself.

"Looks like somebody's got an obsession," Natsu said in a low voice.

"Somehow, I'm feeling insulted," Happy stated, examining his surroundings, "This place is more pro-Lamia Scale than the guild itself!"

"I wouldn't say that," Lucy said in awed tones, "Lamia Scale is bursting with patriotism towards their guild, but I get your point."

"Even when we're confronting someone's really scary hobby," Natsu said, "you still prove to be an Info Geek."

Lucy punched him in the arm to which he cried out in pain for.

"Come on," she said, entering the garden, "Let's see who our client is."

They made their way up to the doors, and Happy pressed the door bell. Even on the outside, they could hear the resonating rings of the buzzer. After three seconds, the entrance opened and a very stout, portly old woman stared up at them. She had a magenta shawl wrapped around her shoulders that was pinned together by a mermaid brooch, and her round glasses had "LAMIA SCALE" carved into them. Deep wrinkles outlined her face, and her dress reached all the way to the marble flooring.

"Oh, you're those Fairy Tail folks," she sniffed unhappily in her raspy voice. She examined Natsu with observant eyes, "You're just not as good-looking as Lyon-sama!"

"Look, old lady, you needed help and we came, so would you point us to your problem?" the fire mage scowled, crossing his arms.

Lucy elbowed him in the rib cage and said sweetly, "What's the problem ma'am?"

"Robbers, obviously, haven't you read the job description? If Lamia Scale was the one who had sent representatives, I wouldn't need to explain to you."

Alright, so this little old woman wasn't sweet at all. She was more like a lemon, turning everything sour. Still, Lucy had to keep her patience, or they would very well lose the money AND the job.

"What are they trying to steal is what I was trying to say Mrs. uh…."

"Robby," the lady rasped grouchily, "Mrs. Robby."

"Robby? Isn't that a guy's name?" Natsu commented, and received another punch for it. He was NOT making this job any easier.

"I suppose you should come in, but don't wipe your Fairy Tail hands on ANYTHING, got it?"

"Yes…ma'am," Lucy sighed. She had dealt with these kinds of people before, but that didn't mean it was easy to cooperate with them. She stepped inside the house and was greeted by a cool gust of air. Regular wooden stairs led the way up to the next landing, and the kitchen could be seen from where they were standing. Mrs. Robby was trudging up the staircase and Lucy followed her, followed by a glowering Natsu and hungry Happy. The wall next to the steps were decorated with family pictures, and everyone in the photos had at least one article of clothing that adorned the Lamia Scale insignia.

"Hey Happy, maybe we should carve a Fairy Tail symbol in the wall?" she heard Natsu say behind her. The blonde turned with an I-dare-you-to-do-it-if-you-want-a-busted-up-face look. The fire wizard simmered down a little and continued to climb the stairs with a self-pitying expression. The old woman gestured for them to enter a dimly lit room, and Lucy listened to her directions. Once they were all in the compact little space, she closed the door and turned on the lights. In her hands was a medium-sized box; it was nothing special, just plain wood without any motifs upon it at all.

"What is that?" Natsu asked, leaning in closely. The old lady hit him with the box so that he would back up a little (it worked successfully), and opened the case. Lucy almost gasped in wonderment; inside the box were dozens of gems, carved to look like…you guessed it, Lamia Scale signs. None of them were the exact same color. Hues from purple to cerulean to indigo twinkled from within the wooden case, looking as if they had just been polished that morning.

"This is what they are trying to steal from me," Mrs. Robby whispered, and the blonde and her partners were surprised to find tears on the edges of her eyes. "My mother gave this to me and her mother gave it to her, and so on. This treasure has been in my family for generations. Just yesterday, I got a note saying that this Bandit Five or something was going to rob me of my most valued possession. Which is this…"

"It certainly is breathtaking," Lucy said breathlessly, and stood up with a determined expression, "I, I mean WE, won't let them take your jewels, ma'am!"

"Too late for that!"

A voice boomed from the other side of the wall and suddenly, chunks of it were flying past their heads. When the blonde next looked up, there was a hole in the wall opposite of her, and Mrs. Robby was screaming something indistinct. Finally, the words cleared up, and Lucy could make out what she was saying, "They've got my jewels! They've got my jewels!"

She leaped into action, turning around to tell Natsu to stand up. But she didn't need to. The fire wizard was already flying out the door using Happy's magic to catch up to the escaping criminals.

"Hold up, you guys!" Lucy yelled and groaned as she took off running.

It felt great to feel the wind rushing past his face again after three years. Natsu could see the thieves below – five of them to be exact – rushing off. The one holding the box had a bushy mustache-beard combo, and gruff-looking facial features. His other comrades were skinnier with hawk-like noses and gaunt chins. It was reasonable to suggest that the one holding the box was the leader. Natsu followed them overhead until the group had reached a mountain pass.

"Fly down lower, and drop me Happy," Natsu said and his blue partner obeyed. The Dragon Slayer landed on his feet in front of the Bandit Five, who screamed in terror. He looked up, glaring at them with his intense eyes.

"Give me those Jewels," he ordered, gesturing towards the case, but Gruffy Face wasn't listening.

"Do you know who am, you brat?" he said, scowling.

"Uh, Gruffy Face?" Natsu guessed and Happy sighed at his idiocy. However, silence descended upon the five bandits immediately.

"How did he know!?" one of the skinnier guys yelled in a panicky voice, "This is our debut! How did he know!?"

"I'm just that good, imbecile!" Gruffy Face grunted, and turned to the fire wizard, "Yes, I am Gruffy Face, captain of the Bandit Five!"

"Are you SERIOUS?" Natsu asked him incredulously, and the criminal nodded. The fire mage looked towards Happy, saying, "I really want to see Lucy's face when she learns about THIS one."

"Don't underestimate me!" the captain bellowed and pocketed the wooden case. Without hesitating, he charged towards Natsu, who dodged and lit his foot on fire to give Gruffy a kick on the head.

"His foot! It's on fire!" the crew wailed in terror as Natsu proceeded to beat their boss up.

"You fools!" Gruffy boomed, "I haven't even used magic yet!"

"Iron Fist of the Dragon!"

Natsu was sure that he would win with this one, but all of a sudden, his hand stopped in midair. His wrist felt chilly all of a sudden, as if Gray had frozen only part of his hand. The fire mage looked down to see a shadow draped over his arm; Gruffy was smiling creepily.

"I use Shadow Magic, and as the name implies, I can control the Shadows!"

Natsu lit his hand on fire to dissipate the shadow on his arm, but it was no use, it stayed there like black tar. The captain of the Bandit Five continued to smile as he punched Natsu in the stomach, then the face, and then the arms.

"Do you think this cat could be of use to us?" the fire mage heard the other robbers saying as they examined Happy. "Let's take him!"

"Happy!" Natsu gasped, trying to turn around to save his friend, but Gruffy Face's magic still had a strong hold on him.

Suddenly, a large shadow fell over him, and his first thought was that Gruff was trying to suffocate him with his magic, but he heard a familiar voice.

"Cretins! How DARE you try to hurt my friends?!" Lucy screamed striking the creepy shadow boss away from Natsu with her sword.

"Captain!" the bandits screamed, rushing to the aid of their boss, and Lucy pointed her weapon towards them. On her face was a deadly, withering glare. If looks could kill, the Bandit Five would have been dead.

"So first, you try to steal Mrs. Robby's treasure, and now you're trying to steal my friend!? How LOW can you get!? You've made me angry, and I won't hold back!"

The blonde held up her sword so that the point was directed towards the sky.

"Requip," she said, and her weapon was immediately enveloped in a yellow light. The figure in her hand became smaller, and when the image finally settled into sight, it turned out to be a key. It was different from the other ones, Natsu could tell; it was golden like the other twelve Zodiac keys, but with silver etchings carved all over it, and the symbol of the key was a crown surrounded by stars.

A magic circle appeared under the blonde as she started to recite a spell:

"_Mighty Ruler of the Skies_

_Emperor of the Stars_

_Commander of the Constellations_

_I ask for thy help!_

_Open! Gate of the Majesty! The Celestial Spirit King!"_

The skies turned blue and black with twinkling stars in the sky. From out of nowhere, a huge figure approached, frowning at the thieves. He had red eyes, green armor, and a long, white mustache. It was none other than the king of the Celestial World, looking as if he was molded into the sky.

"King! Please teach these criminals never to steal!"

"Certainly, Lucy Heartfilia."

The giant raised a hand and pointed at the enemies with his right index finger. They were washed in a blinding white light as the thieves screamed in horror. When Natsu opened his eyes, the skies were back to being a light blue, and the Bandit Five was a smoking, trembling, and weeping smoking heap. The boss was out cold, and Lucy, emotionless, started to tie them up. When she was done, she pulled them along as if they were a couple of dogs, and said, "Let's go back."

"What about the box?" Natsu managed to ask.

"Oh, that? I got it back when I struck him away from you."

To prove her point, she waved the case in front of his face as she smiled.

"Let's get the jewels and go home, Natsu."

"Oh, o-okay."


	6. Chapter 6: Gray Versus Lucy!

_Hey, thanks for reviewing my story everybody! I'm glad that you like how Lucy's gotten stronger!_

_Please review! _

_This chapter is the beginning of an arc! Please tell me what you think!_

**Chapter 6: Gray Versus Lucy!**

Someone should have seen it coming sooner or later. But the truth was, everyone thought that the fire mage would have forgotten, and would have accepted how life at Fairy Tail was now. However, Natsu Dragneel rarely forgot anything that had to do with the words "fight" and "stronger". So, when one particular morning, Natsu challenged Lucy to a fight, everybody was surprised.

"Lucy!" Natsu cried, "Let's fight! Let's see who is stronger!"

"Not…interested."

The salmon-haired wizard stared at his best friend, who was seated at the bar, drinking her strawberry smoothie with a bored expression plastered onto her face. Natsu, rarely the one to give up, clenched his fists again, and shouted even louder, "LET'S FIGHT!"

He made punching motions in the air, but the blonde stayed firm. "No."

"Aw, but why?"

Lucy kept on sipping her beverage, not even bothering to glance at her partner. She waved her hand dismissively at him instead, set on trying to make him walk away.

"LET'S GO!" Natsu yelled striking out air punches once again. And that's when it happened. The fire mage's knuckles flew out, caught Lucy's glass, made it fall out of her grasp, and shattered onto the ground. Silence enveloped the guild as the blonde and the salmon-haired wizard stared at the mess on the floor; tension blanketed the air as Lucy stood up, her stool clattering.

"Natsu Dragneel…"she growled and grabbed the aforementioned boy by the collar, "you are SO going to pay for this."

She pushed him backwards so that he stumbled a few steps away from her; snarling, she snapped, "Fine, let's have this fight."

Natsu, wasting no time at all, went into a fighting stance, "Bring it."

Lucy got ready to unsheathe her sword but Makarov Dreyar, face grim and serious, stopped her.

"Nice going, Master," Erza complimented him, and he nodded.

"Natsu, Lucy, if you're going to fight…why not let us make a tournament out of this!?"

The scarlet-haired mage almost dropped her plate of strawberry cake in shock, "WHAT!?"

"We'll start with one battle and the person who wins gets to go through all battles! Winner is Fairy Tail's Strongest!"

"Great, this guild is so nutty," Lucy muttered and sat down heavily. The guild Master smiled at everyone, "I will decide the order of the matches tonight. In the meantime, be anxious for the results!"

"I wonder who the first two people battling are going to be!" Natsu bubbled with excitement, biting into a chicken drumstick. Erza, who was seated beside him at the round, wooden table, sipped her tea and said, "Who knows?"

Gray, stripped down to his boxers, said, "I bet Master's going to make every spectacle worthwhile."

"Do you think he went from least powerful to most powerful?" the fire mage asked with his mouth full. Erza motioned for him to chew first and replied again with, "Who knows?"

"The thing I really want to know is…"Lucy said in a low voice, "_why_ are you guys in my room?"

Natsu, done with his "snack", fell backwards onto the lush carpeting, and began to yawn, "It's the best place to sleep."

Gray nodded in agreement, also beginning to drape himself onto the ground. Happy was cuddled in with Natsu, snoring loudly. Erza, meanwhile, dressed in her pajamas, began to crawl into the blonde's bed. Lucy sat quietly, shocked by her friends' boldness, but jumped into her bed as well. How could she even continue to be surprised by this trend and flow of things?

As she lay in bed, a million things ran through her mind…and they were mostly about Natsu. Now that she had proved to him that she was strong, he paid a lot more attention to her…although, not in the way she had hoped he would. How she would get him to view her in a girlish way like Lisanna had managed to years ago was a puzzle to her. Natsu never blushed at anything she had to say, and to copy Back-When-She-Was-Probably-Seven-Or-Something-Lisanna and say that she wanted to become his wife in the future…she couldn't even think about it. That white-haired mage had the luck of knowing Natsu as a child and blowing him off guard with "future marriage" ideas. The blonde had nothing to work with, especially when Natsu was so dense that you needed to be straightforward with him all the time. A direct "I like you" was so embarrassing to Lucy that she blushed just thinking about it.

Beside her, Erza stirred in her sleep, muttering something that sounded a lot like, "Jellal…" The blonde permitted herself to smile a little at this, then turned on her side to look at the fire wizard. He was fast asleep, mouth wide open, and snoring. _He actually looks pretty cute when he's sleeping, _Lucy thought, smiling again.

"I…" Natsu mumbled. Lucy cocked an eyebrow curiously.

"Hmm?"

"I…"

"Hmm?"

"Iron Fist of the Dragon!"

The boy's fist lit up with flames and charred her carpet a little. She sat up, screaming, waking up Gray and Erza.

"What!? Intruders!? Ice Make Lance!" the Ice wizard shouted and his beautiful sculptures punctured one of her walls. Erza, totally switched into attack mode, pulled out her sword and slashed crazily, tearing up curtains and bed sheets. In addition, Natsu, with his destruction expertise, sat up, exclaiming, "Roar of the Fire Dragon!"

By the end of the "intrusion", Lucy's apartment was smoldering, cold, and torn up. Let's just say that three wizards that night were kicked out of an apartment building.

"I've got the list all ready!" Makarov announced to the guild. Lucy was sitting at a bench, looking extremely annoyed; Natsu, Gray, and Erza were yawning loudly, and stretching, as if they had spent the whole night outside. The Master registered this for a moment before he turned back to everyone. "Are you ready for the battles!?"

"I sure am!" Natsu yelled, leaping up on the table excitedly. Calmly, Erza pulled him back on the bench, not even batting an eye. Every member was now crowding around Makarov, who stood on the bar counter as Kinana and Mirajane cleaned the glasses.

"Great!"

Makarov paused to build up the tension, then looked down at his list, "First battle is Gray Fullbuster…"

Gray jumped up, pumping his fist in the air and shouting, "Alright!"

"…and Lucy Heartfilia!"

The blonde looked up from picking her nails, and grit her teeth, "First battle and I'm already against GRAY!?"

"Don't look at me…well, I guess you can, since I'm, the one who made this list," Makarov said thoughtfully.

The Celestial Mage groaned extravagantly.

"Please make your way outside into the courtyard so that we can have this battle. Please…try not to destroy too many things, participants!"

Lucy stood facing Gray, not feeling too great. She had seen his magic, and she had never actually fought him. In the past few years, she HAD gotten stronger, but she had never measured her powers next to someone like Gray. Now was her chance to find out how much she had actually improved, but her stomach was churning nervously as she shook hands with the ice wizard.

"I'm not going easy on you, Lucy."

The blonde, swallowing back all her jitters, replied, "Neither am I. I mean, hey, somebody's got to get revenge for my poor apartment."

The two mages smiled at each other for a moment before a gong resonated throughout the courtyard. Quickly, they tore apart their hands and bounded to opposite sides of the given space.

"Ready….start!" Makarov shouted and the rest of the guild members backed up a safe distance to give them space. From the sidelines, she could her Natsu, cheering both of them.

"Lucy! Gray's annoying! Beat him! Gray! I want to fight Lucy! Beat her!"

"Your cheering is confusing! Shut up!" the blonde yelled and started to focus on her opponent. The black-haired mage went into his usual stance; he brought his hands to the side, twisted one hand, and said, "Ice Make…"

Lucy brought her hands to her belt and grabbed the desired one. The key was silver.

"…Cannon!"

"Open! Gate of the Hunter! Orion!"

In a puff of clouds and smoke, a muscular man with a bow and casket of arrows slung over his shoulders appeared in front of her. He held a shield that blocked off Gray's attack.

"Ah, the nature of hunting!" Orion breathed, and gave everyone the thumbs up to make sure they knew he had been successful. He then disappeared in a shimmer of golden light, and Lucy watched as Gray smirked.

"Nice one," he said, and Lucy said smugly, "Thanks."

"But not good enough! Ice Make Lance!"

Lucy shrieked as she was flung back; recovering quickly, she flipped backwards in midair and landed gracefully on her feet. She quickly grabbed a silver key from her pouch and said, "Open! Gate of the Dog! Canis Major!"

Instantly, a dog with shimmering black dog with green eyes appeared, growling and revealing its glistening, white fangs. Canis Major was definitely tougher-looking than Plue, and scarier as well. "Lucy-sama, woof?"

"Attack, Canis!"

"Yes, woof."

The mutt leapt and dodged a shot of ice from Gray and managed to tackle the ice wizard down. But the black-haired mage was not to be underestimated. Somehow, he managed to bring his hands together and yell, "Ice Make Hammer! Followed by Ice Make Bow!"

Lucy dodged the oncoming attacks and pulled out her sword. She ran towards the wizard, jumped up, and swung her sword towards him; it made contact, but he broke into a million shards of ice.

"Ice Make: Dummy," his voice resounded from behind her. She turned, only to see a cage dropping over her. "Ice Make: Prison!"

"Yay! Gray-sama!" Juvia cheered from the sidelines.

"Got you now, Lucy," he said as he pointed his hands through one of the holes, "Ice Make: Geyser!"

"Sorry, but I don't think so Gray," the blonde shouted as she ran towards the side of her jail…and slashed through it with her sword. A moment later as she left her spot, a plume of ice blasted its way through the contraption.

"Did she just cut through Gray's ice?" Erza gasped, crossing her arms. She focused intently on the battle, already surprised by how much her blonde friend had progressed over the last three years.

"You just saw it, didn't you?" Wakaba said, as Kinana nodded in reply.

Lucy and Gray confronted each other; the blonde, covered in icy shrapnel, was the only one of the two breathing heavily. The raven-haired mage charged towards the Celestial mage, who stood watching him come, "Ice Make: Battle Axe!"

He jumped at the last moment, swinging his arms down at full force. Lucy jumped out of the way, swung her right leg around, and kicked Gray back hard. As desired, he flew back, skidding along the ground. She smirked, and said, "Canis! Now!"

The dog came bounding out of nowhere, and lunged at her grounded friend. But he wasn't as caught off guard as the blonde had thought he had been. "Ice Make: Shield!"

Canis flew backwards and plopped right beside Lucy, heaving in exhaustion.

"You can go back, Canis. Good boy."

"Thank you, Lucy-sama, woof."

The Celestial wizard stood in frustration as she watched Gray get up again, breathing only slightly harder than usual; it appeared as if he were having the time of his life fighting her, and she had to admit, it was fun for her too.

"Oh, Gray, when will you give up?" she sighed, trying to make herself sound arrogant.

"Don't underestimate Gray-sama!" Juvia protested from the side, waving her arms crazily.

The mentioned wizard smiled, and jabbed his thumb at the water sorceress, "You heard her."

"Alrighty, then, how about a…direct attack!?" Lucy screamed as she ran towards him, sword prepared to be used. Gray dodged, buying some time to say, "Ice Make: Cold Excalibur!"

A giant sword appeared in front of her, and knocked her backwards; she screamed as she flew through the air. The blonde ended up landing a few feet from Gray, bearing quite a few scratches on her arms and legs. She clenched her jaw in frustration.

"Okay," she said, throwing off her cloak, "so now, I'm really mad."

She skillfully leapt, dodged, and rolled her way towards her opponent, striking off any strikes from Gray's Cold Excalibur when appropriate. On the tenth time the sword surged towards her, she crashed her sword into it, and the weapon exploded into cold little splinters. She yelled as she approached the ice wizard, wielding her sword like a professional.

"Ice Make: Sword!" In his hands, a blade appeared, looking wickedly sharp and new. He parried Lucy's strike, and the blonde just barely managed to miss a blow he directed towards her. Next thing everyone knew, it had turned into a sword duel, filled with narrow misses of the strike of a blade, and skillful parries.

Lucy's heart skipped a beat as she stumbled and Gray's sword hit hers with a deafening clash. She was forced to fall onto her butt from the impact and stared in disbelief at her now chipped sword. A long scratch trailed down one side, and the blade had lost its gleaming appearance; it was now filled with both shallow and deep cuts.

"You did NOT just destroy my ever-present katana."

"Uh, I think I JUST did."

The blonde pointed the tip of the weapon towards the always cold mage, whispering, "Then you just made one heck of a mistake, dude."

She held out her sword and shouted, "Requip!"

The weapon became enveloped in golden light, and the result that came out was another katana, except this one looked scarier. It had bandages wrapped around its hilt that were frayed and hung off from it; its blade was even shinier than the last one, and it seemed longer too. The whole thing seemed to glitter and sparkle in the light, making it look strangely beautiful.

"Aw, man," Macao breathed "is that….?"

"I believe it is," Wakaba nodded, "This is the first time I've ever seen it!"

"It's deadly, yet it's a beauty," Kinana whispered. Erza's eye twitched; being someone who used The Knight, she had to admit that Lucy's sword was captivating, an enchanting piece of weaponry. But what could it do?

"This," Lucy said, "is my Fairy Blade, one of the two strongest weapons in my inventory."

"Just because you have another toy to use, doesn't mean I'm scared," Gray snorted. "Get ready! Ice Make: Death Scythe!"

The mage jumped into the air, wielding his newfound weapon then in a swift motion, swung it at the blond with all his might. Nimbly, he landed on the ground, looking at where Lucy had been. The spot was covered in an icy mist. He smiled cockily, but his eyes widened as Lucy stood before him, with not a scratch left by his Death Scythe.

"What!?"

Lucy pointed at his right hand – the one holding his weapon. He looked and almost doubled over when he saw the top part of his sculpture cleanly cut off. His molding burst and he stared at Lucy, eyes glaring, "How did you…?"

She held up her Fairy Blade, "This can cut through almost anything. Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

Open! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio! Open! Gate of the Goat! Capricorn!"

All three Zodiac Celestial spirits appeared, smiling and ready for battle.

"Since when could she summon three spirits at the same time!?" Erza asked, eyes widening. Kinana smiled sweetly and replied, "Ever since two years ago."

"Scorpio! Use your Sand Blast!"

"Okay, we are!"

Gray grunted in frustration as his surroundings disappeared around him, only to be replaced by tons of sand. He perked up as a shadow appeared on his left side.

"Loke!?" the ice wizard exclaimed as the orange-haired spirit swung a punch at him. The black-haired mage was able to block it, but Leo smirked at him, "Sorry, Gray!"

The ice mage was knocked forward onto his face as Capricorn kicked him from behind. Then, the Celestial spirits jumped out of the sandy vortex as it dissipated around him.

"Good teamwork, guys!" Lucy praised and the three boys gave her the thumbs up. They vanished in a golden stream of light, and Lucy took her chance to attack the off guard Gray.

"Lucy…KICK!" she yelled and her opponent slammed into a wall ten feet away.

Now breathing heavily, and depleted of most of his magic, the ice wizard was slow to get up. The blonde smiled and called out, "Tired?"

"Not a chance. Ice Make: Arrows!"

The blonde, still smiling, somersaulted herself away from the flying weapons and beckoned for her current rival to come forth. He did so obligingly, shouting, "Ice Make: Ice Lancer!"

Gigantic lances hurtled themselves towards the Celestial wizard, most of which she managed to avoid, but one caught her on the arm, making her cry out in pain. The girl almost dropped her Fairy Blade, but forced herself to endure the fiery feeling eating away at her upper right arm.

"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

"Punishment, princess?" the pink-haired maid suggested, bowing respectfully.

"No! GET him!"

"As you wish, princess." Virgo disappeared into the ground, and Gray looked around, trying to pinpoint her exact location.

"You better be paying attention to me, Ice Princess!" Lucy yelled, trying to strike him with her sword. It barely grazed against his abdomen, but it was progress.

"No! Pay attention to JUVIA, Gray-sama!" Juvia whined, crying, "Stop trying to steal him away, Lucy!"

The two fighters turned towards the light blue-haired girl, sweat dripping down their foreheads.

"Stop with your fantasies," they said bluntly, and returned to their battle.

Virgo burst out of the ground behind him, grabbed the poor wizard, and threw him into the air.

"I didn't know you had some nice throwing arms, Virgo," Lucy commented as she watched Gray falling.

"I will leave now, princess…unless you want to punish me."

"No chance," the blonde said in a flat voice and the maid also dissipated into a stream of light.

Lucy, sprinting, caught Gray in midair and started to slash repeatedly at him with her katana. He was a taking a lot of damage, but without him collapsing, the blonde wasn't going to win.

"This is my last effort," Gray thought at the same time he was yelling, "Ice Blade: Seven Slice Dance!"

The muscular boy automatically grew icicles on his elbows and started to strike Lucy with it repetitively. She was helpless under his beatings, and shrieked as he hit her with enough impact to send her sailing through the air. The blonde was already exhausted from the fight and closed her eyes slowly. Lucy landed on her back seven feet away, and appeared to be immobilized.

"Is it done?" Carla asked dryly, floating above Wendy's head.

"Ha," Gray murmured, staggering slightly.

"The battle…"Makarov rasped, "is…ov-!"

"Sorry…I was just tired for a moment…"

Several gasps sounded throughout the crowd as Lucy got up, looking completely energized.

"That was cool, Gray Fullbuster, but watch this!"

The blonde concentrated for a moment, bringing her sword above her head slowly. Then, she opened her eyes, "My Fairy Blade…scatter!"

The sword separated into fragments of light that resembled sakura petals, which vanished immediately. Focusing completely on her spell, Lucy spread her feet shoulder-width apart, and a magic circle appeared accordingly beneath her feet. The fingers of both her hands were bent so that only her pointer and middle finger were still up; slowly, she brought her hands together, crossing them at the wrists, and yelled, "Go! Fairy Blade Secret Art: One Hundred Dagger Dance!"

As she said the last words, several daggers appeared around Gray and shot themselves towards him. With a strangled yell, the ice wizard fell back, and stayed down. Silence followed the shout, allowing everyone to hear the chirp of the birds in the trees. The audience was in a state of shock, trying to make themselves comprehend what they had just seen.

Lucy raised her right hand and made a beckoning gesture with her left hand.

"Gather, my Fairy Blade."

As she said so, the daggers reappeared, aligning themselves with her raised right hand in a straight line. As the last dagger placed itself in her hand, the whole arrangement transformed into a katana once again.

Makarov's voice crackled over his microphone, "The winner is…Lucy Heartfilia!"

The blonde grinned, holding onto her injured arm and yelled, "I hope Dragneel is next!"


	7. Chapter 7: Mirajane Versus Lucy!

_Thank you everyone for reviewing! I'll try to input a little more hand-to-hand combat if possible!_

**Chapter 7: Mirajane Versus Lucy!**

And so, the second day of the Fairy Tail tournament began. Gray, wrapped up in bandages, was in a horrible mood; he had not wanted to lose to Lucy, and was even angrier when he remembered that he had thought that he had had the upper hand. Without meaning to, he had underestimated the blonde, and was now forced to sit on the sidelines. The Master had tried his best to set up bleachers overnight, but they were creaky, as if they were going to collapse at any moment. Still, the ice wizard sat on them, not worried at all; he was only caught up in the fact that his ranking the guild had probably dropped. Right next to him sat Natsu, excited to the maximum. In the "arena" stood Lucy, dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt, tights, and combat boots. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she seemed full of life. Her arm was bandaged, but she showed no sign of pain; in fact, her eyes were bright, eagerly awaiting the next challenge. A few of Magnolia's citizens were crowded into the courtyard as well; they had heard about the event going on, and couldn't wait to see the Celestial Fairy fight in person.

"Ah…so, thank you everyone for coming to the second day of the tournament!" Makarov spoke into his microphone.

"We have to come anyways, since it's our guild after all," Droy sighed, munching on a smoked ham.

"Our next match is going to be a good one!" the Master reassured, "And I bet you're waiting to see how Lucy fights in this one!"

"Hmph," Gray grunted, crossing his arms in irritation. Erza elbowed him, and he gasped in pain.

"Please be me," Natsu whispered, "Please be me."

"Today it's Lucy Heartfilia…"

A rouse of cheers went up from Magnolia's crowd.

"…and our very own Mirajane Strauss!"

An eruption of cheers broke out as the white-haired mage perked up, and made her way down from the bleachers. On her face was a pleasant smile, and she bowed respectfully towards Lucy. "Even though you're in one of my favorite couples, I won't go easy on you Lucy."

For a moment, the blonde's smile faltered, but she quickly recovered. "I can't wait."

The sound of the gong rang out and Mirajane stood quietly, smiling sweetly. Lucy, meanwhile, went into the defensive, waiting for her opponent's first move.

Finally, Mira spread her arms out and yelled, "Take Over! Satan Soul!"

The mage's white hair flowed up, and stayed there; red lipstick outlined her lips, and her face had taken on a scarier look. In a move too fast for anyone to see, she zoomed towards Lucy, aiming a kick at the blonde mage. Unexpectedly, the Celestial wizard struck out her hands, blocked the oncoming attack, jumped up, and delivered a powerful kick of her own. Mira flew back, stopped her fall with her wings, and hovered in midair. A look of shock was plastered on her face. "Did she just block my kick!?"

Lucy smiled mischievously, and made a beckoning motion with her right hand, "Come."

The white-haired mage charged again, this time dodging Lucy's move, flying around to the back and giving a punch. Without batting an eye, the blonde turned, grabbed Mira's hand and threw the mage ten feet away from her. The Take-Over wizard shrieked as she hit a wall, making it crumble on impact. The Master started to cry at the sight. "My guild…"

"Did she just…?" Erza managed to breathe, eyes widening in shock.

"I think she just did…" Gray choked.

"Awesome!" Natsu yelled, pumping his fists in the air.

From the cloud of dust and debris, Mirajane emerged, going at the speed of a bullet. Her mouth was set in determination and she disappeared for a moment in her fast velocity.

"Go, Mira-nee!" Lisanna screamed and Elfman bellowed, "Be a man!"

But Lucy pinpointed her location with ease. Skillfully, she leaped into the air, front flipped as Mira flew underneath, and grabbed a fistful of white hair. Quickly, Lucy bent her leg, brought it down, and kneed Mira in the back. The white-haired girl gave out a yelp of pain and struggled away from the blonde's grasp. She was slow in escaping, and Lucy threw her into the air, and kicked the mage into a wooden bamboo pole. There was a loud crack as it broke and the whole structure came collapsing down.

"Urgh," Makarov moaned into the microphone, "Fairy Tail's as shabby looking enough as it is!"

"She's good, Lucy that is" Gray whispered, watching as the white-haired wizard got up from all the destruction around her.

"And the frightening thing is," Erza muttered, "she hasn't even used magic yet."

A dark, lightning ball grew from within Mirajane's hands as she brought them close to each other. "Sorry Lucy, but I'm being serious!"

She threw the ball and it flew towards the blonde, who gazed at it in amusement. She held out a hand in front of her as if meaning to catch the destructive energy racing towards her.

"Did I ever tell you that I'm great at playing catch?" Lucy asked as Mira's attack made contact with her palm.

Erza stood up, causing the whole seating structure to wobble precariously. "Did she just…!?"

No words needed to be said, because Lucy was definitely holding Mira's lightning ball right in her hand, having no trouble in handling it at all. In fact, she was even throwing it up and down as it were a baseball getting ready to be thrown by the pitcher.

"Are you good at catch?" the Celestial Wizard asked the Take-Over mage and grunted as she lobbed the attack right back to its source. Mira screamed as the attack exploded on the ground right in front of her, sending her skidding along the ground.

"Sorry, that wasn't my throwing arm," Lucy said, and stood her ground as the opponent stood up. She was breathing heavily by now, scratched all over while the blonde sported not a single injury.

"After I fought Gray yesterday," Lucy said, "I made it so that my fighting skills weren't rusty, and here I am."

"Ugh," Mira groaned and got up. A magic circle appeared underneath her feet.

"Powering up?" the blonde asked, cocking an eyebrow. Mirajane came into focus again, sporting a new outfit, it was light blue and striped. Her hair was hanging down now, but the same make up was plastered on her face.

"I thought I told her not to use that one!" Makarov yelled, bouncing up and down. "She could destroy the…!"

"Gramps," Laxus said, shushing him and indicating towards Magnolia's citizens, "Better not mention that."

Mira staggered a little, regained her balance, and flew towards Lucy again. This time, the stellar mage ducked, and winced as she blocked a kick from the Take-Over Mage. "You're faster now."

The white-haired beauty didn't answer but charged again, and lifted her leg to kick. Lucy evaded it just in time, and reacting swiftly, grabbed Strauss's leg in a firm grasp.

"Basic Heartfilia technique," she yelled, "Lucy…Kick!"

Mira went barreling up into the sky, trying to slow down her ascent with her wings.

"Wanna see how high I can jump?" the blonde smiled and bent her legs. "I was in Magnolia's best track-and-field high jump team!"

As she said so, the daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia sprang up, reaching Mira's height easily. The former model only looked at her in shock, and Lucy smiled, "Guess you didn't expect this huh?"

In the blink of an eye, Lucy laid her palm on Mira's head, flipped, and brought her knee down on the poor mage's back once again. This time, the blonde fell down with her opponent and only jumped to land on the ground safely when Strauss crashed into the ground. The result was a three foot deep crater, the circumference of which was amazing. But Mirajane was still getting up, staggering and probably covered in bruises by now. Her breath was heavy, and she gathered up her strength the transform yet again. The resulting transformation made everyone in the guild inhale and keep their breath.

"That's her strongest…!" Erza couldn't even finish the sentence. For Mira to resort to this form was proof that Lucy was wearing her down…and the blonde hadn't even utilized her keys or swords yet.

"She could destroy at least DOZENS of cities with that one," Makarov sobbed, and Natsu gripped his fists in excitement.

"Here I come!" Mira screamed, dressed partly in armor and partly in cloth. The mage kicked at the Celestial wizard and followed it up with an energy ball. The blonde dodged both without a problem, but she wasn't expecting for Mira to come at her again quickly, giving her a blast of black lightning. Lucy screamed, earning her first scratches of the battle. The Take Over mage wasted no time in rushing over to the blonde and delivered her a storm of punches, jabs, kicks, and uppercuts. Surprisingly Lucy was on top of the game, returning each attack with a block and giving each block a bone rattling punch. All that was seen was a flurry of arms and legs, hitting back and forth.

Mirajane finally succeeded in giving an uppercut, and watched as Lucy was lifted into the air. Letting herself drop into the habitual reaction she had developed because of training, the blonde back flipped, landed gracefully on the ground in front of Mira, and swept her right leg at the mage's feet so that she fell. Next, Lucy grabbed her by the collar and projected her into the air. The Take Over wizard put her hands out in front of her as she flew backwards, and aimed a dark energy attack at her opponent. The blonde leapt away just in time and brought out her signature weapon.

"Fleuve D'Etoile!" she screamed and a stream of green and golden light replaced the seemingly normal whip. The River of Stars flowed towards Mira and wrapped itself around her right arm. In turn, the mage clicked her tongue in annoyance and struggled against the constriction of the weapon. But it only wrapped itself tighter around her upper arm, and she pulled at it in frustration.

"Now that's a twist to the fun children's game of jump rope," Lucy's voice said from behind her and Mira shrieked as a foot made contact with her shoulder blade. "Time to end this, shall we?"

Mira expected for the girl to summon four spirits and strike her out of the sky or use her sword and do the "One Hundred Dagger Dance", but none of that ensued. Lucy used her hand instead to hit Mirajane's neck's pressure point. The hit should have knocked the white-haired wizard out but she remained conscious, and landed on her feet with difficulty.

"You didn't hit it in the exact spot."

"I know, I know, I'm still working on that one."

The blonde pulled out her sword and Mira got ready for a strike. But the Celestial Wizard wasted no time in requipping and summoning her Fairy Blade. Mirajane scrunched her face up and took on an even more defensive position, ready to bear any cuts that Lucy might deliver. But the white-haired mage didn't see any slashes, in fact, none of the audience members did, as well.

Lucy spun her sword above her, and brought it down so that it stabbed into the ground. A magic circle spread out beneath her feet, and te amount og magic that surged from it caused her blonde hair to dance around.

"Go! Dance of the Seven Hundred Slices!"

Soon after she said that, Mira felt as if thousands of paper cuts were forming all over her body and she screamed at the pain. It felt as if someone had rubbed hand sanitizer into the cuts all over her body. Her energy was suddenly drained from her and all she could think as she saw the ground rushing up towards her was, "I lost." Her transformation became undone, turning back into a long red dress.

"T-the winner is Lucy Heartfilia!" Makarov announced and it took a while before anybody started to cheer.

Lucy raised her fist into the air for a moment, then bent down next to Mira. Slowly, she dragged her to the sidelines, where Wendy tended to her. After a few seconds, the girl opened her eyes and Lucy smiled down at her, "Sorry, Mira."

"Hmph," the mage sniffed, "I'll get you next time Lucy."

From across the guild, Natsu watched Lucy with ferocious eyes. Ever since the end of the fight, he had been looking at her intently. He was fired up, and paid no attention as Happy stuck a piece of fish right in front of his face. Everyone around him was celebrating, laughing and downing tankards of alcohol. The salmon-haired mage clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling nervous. Who knew who would fight the Celestial Fairy tomorrow? Heck, they didn't even know who was in the tournament and who wasn't. One thing was for sure though, the Dragon Slayer had no desire to lose to his best friend. He got up and walked to join the party.

Gray was feeling uneasy. A question ran through his mind as he stared at Lucy attentively. What if she had't gone all out when she was fighting with him? It bothered him that she should even think to take him lightly. The Ice Wizard clenched his teeth in frustration and stared down at his table. Then, he lifted his head up as he saw Natsu approaching the blonde. The black-haired boy sighed, getting up heavily. He would worry about it later, and party for now…

Erza Scarlet was nervous. For the first time in her life, she was reluctant to fight someone. Lucy was strong, stronger than she had been three years ago. Her flips, kicks, and punches were skilled, and had no rigid pattern. The blonde had the skill of adapting to the opponent's fighting style, and eventually came out on top.

The scarlet-haired mage was sitting outside in the courtyard, crossing her arms in thought. She was seated on the stump located not quite in the middle of the yard, but close to it. Behind her, Bisca and Alzack were talking to Asuka about how requipping worked.

"Asuka wants to requip too!" the little girl said in her tiny, shrill voice.

Nobody requipped as fast as Erza Scarlet, the Titania, the user of The Knight…everyone knew it. As good as Lucy had become, she couldn't change her weapons as fast as Erza could change her armor and weaponry. But still, the armor-clad girl couldn't help but get the queasy feeling that Lucy had the chance of beating her.

Erza thought back to the fight she had had with Mira years ago.

_"Wanna go, Erza?" Mira asked, that confident smirk creeping up her face again. _

_ The scarlet-haired teenager, hair done in a braid, was sitting by herself on the bench, devouring a piece of strawberry cake. Just a few days ago, a boy named Natsu had entered the guild, and he had this wild story of being raised by a dragon. Nevertheless, she had believed him, and now, she was watching as he fought with Gray. _

_ "Not really," Erza replied, and Mira snorted in a way that the Titania couldn't classify as anything other than annoying. _

_ "You scared?"_

_ This ticked her off, and the Knight clashed her head against Mirajane's in anger. "Let's go!"_

_ Four hours later, most of the guild's furniture had been destroyed, and Erza and Mira had been lying flat on the ground, panting._

_ "I'll get you next time…Scarlet…"_

_ "No, I'll get YOU next time, Strauss…"_

_ Gray and Natsu were tossed off to one side, beat up from trying to join in the fight._

"Even I couldn't beat Mira in a battle…" Erza muttered and looked up at the sky. It was night and the stars twinkled beautifully. The moon shone bright and full, giving off a silvery light on everything. The Titania sighed and was about to fall into her deep thoughts again when a voice rang out from the guild.

"Aren't you coming, Erza?" Lucy called, holding open the doors. Natsu and Gray were peeking out from behind her, waving their hands to gesture her to come inside.

"Yes!" She got up and made her way towards the doors. She heaved one last sigh thinking, _Today friends in the guild, tomorrow opponents in the arena…._

...because the Titania knew that tomorrow, it would be her turn to battle the blonde. She was sure of it…but that didn't necessarily mean she liked it.

**I hope you all liked this chapter…and as you can tell from Erza's last words…the next battle will be electrifying!**

**Coming up Next Time….**

_Natsu: Happy, what d'ya get when you put a frightening knight and a strong Celestial Wizard together?_

_Happy: What?_

_Natsu: One heck of a fight!_

_Together: Next chapter of Fairy Tail's Strongest! Erza Versus Lucy!_


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